Alexander Prokhorenko

Alexander Prokhorenko (22 June 1990-17 March 2016) was a Lieutenant of the Spetsnaz special forces of Russia during the Syrian Civil War. He sacrificed himself during the Liberation of Palmyra in 2016 by ordering an airstrike on his position as Islamic State fighter closed in on him, and he was posthumously made a Hero of the Russian Federation.

Biography
Alexander Prokhorenko was born on 22 June 1990 in Tyulgansky District, Orenburg Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, and he graduated from an engineering school before attending the Smolensk Academy of Anti-Aircraft Defense. He graduated the academy with honors and served in the Spetsnaz as an officer, and his wife was expecting a child when Prokhorenko was deployed to Syria to assist the Syrian Arab Army in its offensive against Palmyra. He directed attacks on Islamic State targets in the city to help the soldiers, but the IS fighters eventually discovered him and closed in. Rather than let them take him alive, he decided to order an airstrike on his own position, killing himself and the IS fighters. A street in Orenburg is named for him, and he was awarded the "Hero of the Russian Federation Award" posthumously by President Vladimir Putin for his sacrifice.